The complete amino acid sequence of the subunit of branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase (transaminase B, EC 2.6.1.42) of Salmonella typhimurium was determined. An Escherichia coli recombinant containing the ilvGEDAY gene cluster of Salmonella was used as the source of the hexameric enzyme. The peptide fragments used for sequencing were generated by treatment with trypsin, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, endoproteinase Lys-C, and cyanogen bromide. The enzyme subunit contains 308 residues and has a molecular weight of 33,920. To determine the coenzyme-binding site, the pyridoxal 5-phosphate containing enzyme was treated with tritiated sodium borohydride prior to trypsin digestion. Peptide map comparisons with an apoenzyme tryptic digest and monitoring radioactivity incorporation allowed identification of the pyridoxylated peptide, which was then isolated and sequenced. The coenzyme-binding site is the lysyl residue at position 159. The amino acid sequence of Salmonella transaminase B is 97.4% identical with that of Escherichia coli, differing in only eight amino acid positions. Sequence comparisons of transaminase B to other known aminotransferase sequences revealed limited sequence similarity (24-33%) when conserved amino acid substitutions are allowed and alignments were forced to occur on the coenzyme-binding site.